1970 Mercury Montego - Gut Check

Torn, tarnished with age, and in pieces post-bodywork, the blue vinyl cabin of Project Monte1go (pronounced Montego; the 1 is silent) had seen much better days. The dash and kick panels were cracked, the vinyl center of the coat-hanger-thin steering wheel had hardened to a point where you couldnt honk the horn, the carpet had 30 years worth of dirt and foodstuffs ground in, and the big torn bench seat simply had to go.

The plan was simple: Keep it looking as factory as possible, while adding only functional and (we think) tasteful items. In our desire to make Monte1go a little more like a Psyche!-clone, we went with a gauge-pak dash, standard in Cyclone Spoilers and optional on all 351ci and big-block midsize Mercs. Tach, oil pressure, water temp, and volt gauges were canted to face the driver; contemporary reports split opinion on whether this setup was functional or frivolous, but it sure beats having everything hang under the dash. We also tripped across an ex-cop-car Montego in the boneyard and walked off with, among other cool pieces, its 140-mph speedo cluster (standard ones went to 120). Our door panels, headliner, back seat, and even the parcel shelf of the ex-Grandma Montego were all virgin and topnotch, however, so save for a thorough cleaning, we left these items be.

There were two things we simply had to have before the rest of the interior came together. First up was a Grant steering wheel, and shortly thereafter came a firm set of custom-trimmed Corbeau buckets; without the buckets, our Hurst shifter install (Mar. 00) would have been a different kettle of fish altogether. (We popped the Grant wheel in so quickly, we forgot to take pictures.) Both were in place when we pulled our 0.90g on the skidpad, and both improved our drivers comfort and driving ability immeasurably.

We talked to the pros at Doobys (Clint Sharp and Frank Ceballo) and Pure Vision (Steve Strope); within a day, they had everything apart and back together, and installed in the car (minus wiring the gauges into the engine compartment). We got our hands on the goods, and they provided the labor, know-how, and (occasionally) problem-solving that made our mighty Merc look like 1970 all over again only better.